Ancient Irish Literature: Cormac's Glossary (Continued)

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THE DUBLIN PENNY JOURNAL.

ceniirig the Northern Coast of the County of Antrim,"
when noticing' the exile of Bruce in Raghery, says, "his
enemies found him even in this remote spot j" and adds,
that " this castle is celebrated for the defence which Bruce
made in it." These are strange errors, for which there is
not the slightest foundation either in history or tradi-
tion; such an event would have been mentioned by the
uiinutc Barbour, in his Bruce; and Dalrymple informs us
in his Annals of Scotland, that, in Raghery, Bruce " eluded
the search of his enemies," to whom his retreat remained
unknown. S. M'S.

ANCIENT IRISH LITERATURE.

CORMAC'S GLOSSARY.

(Continued from page 20.)

Ledwich, in another part of his book, says, "Suppos-
ing' the Glossary genuine, would it now be intelligible ?"
Strange that a man who set up as an Irish antiquary,
should ask such a question ! ■ Surely, although he could
not understand a line of it, he must have known that
those who are really versed in the Irish language, find but
little difficulty in translating Irish documents still more
ancient than the tenth century, as may be seen in Col-
gan's works. But it is painful to dwell upon the unlearn-
ed remarks of this sai-disant Irish antiquary, whose only
view in writing his book, was to stigmatize the ancient
Irish with the character of " a barbarous people, naked
and ignorant as American Indians." — I shall therefore
make one general remark upon his work, and then have
done with him. ■

LedwjCh's book, which he improperly styles " The An-
tiquitieia" of Ireland," contains within it the materials of self-
refutation. In one place he represents the Irish, in the
sixth century, as "naJee'd and ignorant as American In-
dians" and in another place he represents them as peo-
ple who sheltered themselves in woods and bogs :— »
" (Perched aloft on these lofty eminences, these Pirbol-
gean forts resembled the ayries of ravenous birdB, and
were properly termed ' Nids de tyrannies')" In another
place he gives a pompous account of the Irish schools
and studies not only in the sixth century, but as far back
as the middle of the fifth. In another part he speaks of
Asiatic and Greek missionaries, whom he brings at a very
early period into Ireland. Now I would ask, how he
could understand that a barbarous people, naked and igno-
rant as American Indians, could uphold a pure Christian
Church, or establish illustrious Schools ?

This inconsistent writer changes his positions as suits
his own purposes; and it is to be lamented that his
writings have had- the effect of convincing uninitiated
readers tbat the ancient Irish were a horde of barbarians.

I shall now offer a few remarks upon some curious pas-
sages in this Glossary, and see whether there be any rea-
son for ascribing it to Cormac of Cashel.

(Letter A.)
Adamnan, a proper name of a man, is explained So-
munculus, i. e. b)jr6ec<xb <W1H<X <CisiX)rfl, a diminutive
of the name Adam. This is unquestionably the proper
explanation.

<f jib, a height, i. e. Collis ; " ab arduo."
I cannot at all believe that this word is traced to its
proper source ; that is, I can not believe that the word
•ttyib, high, and substantively aheigM, was introduced into
Ireland Try the preaching of Christian Missionaries.

The Irish, it is true, borrowed many words from the
Latin, especially terms for Christian rites and, offices,
such as, 0;j:/tenb, the Mass, (which Cormac properly
derives from the Latin, Offero ;) iflCOJ ft, an Aliar;
ep)rcop, a bishop ; So\Cityb, a priest 5 Cajleoic, a
chalice ; pa;bj^t, a prayer ; &c. Such words unques-
tionably found their way into the language of the Gaels,
through the preaching of Patrick and his successors ; for
as we cannot suppose that these missionaries would have
adopted the technical phraseology of the pagan worship,
it W9s absolutely necessary that^in teaching the pagan
Irish the mysfeitieB of religion, the commandments of

God, &e., they should introduce new terms for which there
could be found no equivalent in the language of pagans.

Those who became converts to the Christian religion,
did not' necessarily learn the Latin language, but such
technicalities as their instructors thought necessary to im-
press upon their memory; hence these words, in their
mouths, were soon divested of their Latin terminations,
and assimilated to the pronunciation and accent of their
native tongue. Thus we find JEpiscajnts made Cprcop,
by the early writers ; but. as that would be a sound diffi-
cult of pronunciation to a Gael, it was in course of time,
by an easy metathesis, (to which the Irish is much in-
clined,) made Co^poc, and still further, for the sake of
softness and ease in pronunciation, it was made 6<ty"bcrr,
p and c, which are hard mutes, being changed into their
corresponding orisonants, b and g.

Thus disguised are many Latin words to be found in
the Irish language, and the older the MSS. are, the
nearer does the spelling approach to the Latin ; but it
will be found that these words are confined to religious
terms.

It is very irrational, however, to suppose that every
word in the Irish language resembling the Latin in sense
and sound, is borrowed from that language; such as
*/<b, /«>/» ; ■o./t, tilled land ; Cal<xtt), earth ; <Xfc<X);i, a
father. These are words whieh every people must make
use of as soon as they have begun to express any ideas,
or have made the slightest advances in social intercourse.

"tfjnbe.J. CUOVJftt:, vetereB nomen . ponebant an
pro circum, uhde dicitur annus •]. H)0,b<Xjn .], jmi
ca<x;/tte h-jf ■o.n bljabo.)!)."

" Abide, i.e. acircveteres enim ponebant <H) pro,
circum; wide dicitur Annas, L e> a year, i. e. the year is
round." . . , ■„

This shows that the author was critically skilled !h the
radices of languages. Yarro assures us, mat wi proper
and original signification of the word annus, is a 'See, or
great circle, whose diminutives, mwulus, signifies a small
circle or ring. His words are, "ham ut parvi circuli
amuli, sic inagni dicebantur anni." — See Littleton, at the
words Anus, Annus. Annulus.
<f ftxeb, i. e. " ab argento."

This is properly=derived, for he says in another place,
that cepftb was the original word for <S./t£dbj ic. silver,
or money, of whieh I shall speak in its own place.

Under the word <X;tt, a stone, he quotes two lines of
the composition of Guaire Aidhne, the hospitable King of
Connaught, who lived in the reign of Dermod Mac ra-
ps Ceirbheoil, A.D. 544 : —

" bo celovc mojt mam/10. ;n <f /tteoe

0)ij pty Ijge C£><x/ic<x;rj mjc tfeba mjc CDoift-

cene."
" Great wonders are concealed in precious stones,
As in that stone possessed by Marcan, grandson of
Marcene."

U/15, he says, has three meanings, viz. :— -
1st. A fluid, milk, hence, /<0-d/i($> a heavy shower.
2d. A Aero ; hence the word Ajigba, heroic, and
*J*55 e jn» !• e. ot/tg-cupe, a hero's wife.

3d. Illustrious, noble; hence is formed the Word
dftceteo-l, which he explains cecal tijibaj/wi, a noble
poetic composition ; because, he adds, it is so frequently
recited. He doubts the explanation which others had gi-
ven of this word, that is, <V/tfe-ce<nfc<il, i. e. the eitbgium
of a hero: for he says, '< n) bo Idecttjo 'flam* bO
njtefl tytcetttl," the Arcetal was not composed for
heroes alone.

*"<#>, ab eo quod est Abas, vel a nomine Eteaica quod
est Abba, id est, pater."

From this and several other passages, it appears that
Cormac was acquainted with Hebrew.

ttCAjfi, Ater, primitus dioebatur, quasi Pater.

This derivation, which the author gives byway of con-
jecture, is doubtful.

THE DUBLIN PENNY JOURNAL.

2?

Armstrong, in his Gaelic Dictionary, says, that Athair,
is derived from the old Celtic word At, which means fa-
ther. I am of opinion that 'the Irish word Athair, is
derived from a source more original than the Latin ; be-
cause it is a historic fact that, at the time of Tacitus,
there was a dialect spoken in Ireland having no connec-
tion with the Latin, for at this time Ireland was pagan,
and outside the limits of the Roman empire. Tacitus
says of Ireland - : —

" Hibernia medio inter Britanniam atque Hispaniam
sita, et Gallico quoque mari opportuna, solum coelumque
et ingenia, cultusque hominum haud multum a Britaniii
difFerunt. Melius aditus portusque per commercia et 7tego-
tiatores cognita. n It might be urged, however, that the
pagan Irish had had another word for father, which, on
the introduction of the Latin, was suffered to fall into
disuse, and athair, corrupted from the Latin word pater,
adopted in its place. I answer, that that supposition is
not borne out by even the semblance of probability, be-
cause the word tor father, in almost every language in the
east, from which the different streams of population have
flowed, begins with at.

The Turkish is Alta. Atto was a Greek term of res-
pect to an aged man ; — " Attam pro reverentia seni cuili-
bet dicimus quasi cum avi nomine appellemus." — Pomp.
Fest. At signifies parent in Jiavus, greatgrandfather.

•Clnft, i. e. Mater Deorum Hibernensium, flO he.
majs bjn /to bja.ta.jfp n<x be, de cuius nomine M
Cjc n-0.na.rw JO.}\ LiCiCOVJ/t nominantur, ut fabula
fertur, i. c. <vrno\jt 0. bejto.;e no. S5celu;be.

" Ana, the mother of the Irish gods ;" so called, " he-
cause she fed or nurtured the God's well." From her (two
hills) "the two paps of Anan, in Luchair, are called, as
story tellers relate.

Keating tells us, that there are two hills in Luachair
Deaghaidh, in Desmond, (i. e. the barony of Iraghticon-
nor, Co. Kerry,) called (Do. CJOC Ocnari, from Damn,
the mother Brian, Iuchar, and Iucharba, three Tuatha
de Dannan sorcerers, who were so famous in the necro-
mantic arts, that they were styled Gods.*

Keating sets this down as true history ; hut the author
of this Glossary, who certainly had more genuine historic
records before him than Keating, speaks of it as fabulous :
amajl A bejtovjr; no. fcel<v)b&, ut fabula fertur, as
story tellers relate.

if rxxjtt .j. jn)p.V : jjttt .J. lOf ; <UiOO.il /too jotrj
OOtytanb mac <Xl<xojn jf o.n "c)% o.n 6vjl. « bos
bon bjc ;;tt" .j. bew b;g Vojf : owo/vs b;n .;.
jnHajf, cji o. bojnz jf copriuit jr/tja Ij; hojf;
Ojp. nj B J T)J bej/tge jh, quasi exsanguis mortuus, i. e.
curiovjl bo bet jew pujl.

Anart, {poisonous draught, J i.e. Inirt: irt, i.e. death,
such as that taken by Moran, son of Maon, in the drink-
ing house, "bOX tiOn b;c J/tlr," "the colour of the
deadly draught," 0\nct/tfc, therefore means lethiferous. This
draught was pale coloured, and the name may be derived
from that circumstance, yiz., similar to the colour of death,
containing no redness — quasi exsanguis mortuus, as it
were without blood.

The Moran, son of Maon, here mentioned, was chief
judge to Feradach Fionfeachtnach, King of Ireland,
A.D. 90. His justice was so celebrated, that it is said
that the Torques, or chain of gold, which he wore as the
badge of his office, would expand around the neck of a
true witness, and contract to such a degree as to cause
suffocation around the neck of a false one. The tra-
ditional memory of this is so well preserved to this
day, that it is a common expression for a_ person asseve-
rating absolute truth, to say, tO.bj-io.jr} p OfJOjtevjo on,
* I would swear, hy Moran's chain to its truth." — O'Flana-
gan, in Transactions of the Gaelic Society, pp. 80, 40.

I never before saw any account of Moran's death, That

he should have been poisoned by his own party is no to
be wondered at. He was son of Carbry Caitchenn, the
plebeian usurper of the throne of Ireland, and officiated
as his father's chief judge. We are told that he decline,,,
the offered succession, and sent his son Neiri, with aa
epistle inviting and directing the lawful prince how t*
act. It is quite natural to suppose that his own party
were highly enraged at his conduct on this occasion, and
that they, looking upon this, his love of justice, a*
treachery, caused a poisonous draught to he administered
to him, in order to be revenged of him for abandoning
their cause, and to deprive the lawful king of the advan-
tage of his wisdom and instruction.

"unW&r, -absolution, quasi {tmoey, ah eo quod est
amncstio, full remission."

" <Xr>]\iXC, nomen secundi gradus poetarum."
" •Cfxo.lj (the name of St. Columbkille's guardian an-
gel,) ab auxilio quod Angeli hominibus praabent."

J. O'DoNOVAi*.

* Haliday'a Edition, p. 206.

ANCIENT IRISH TRUMPETS.

Among the various remains of antiquity daily found in
Ireland, and almost peculiar to our island, there are none
of greater interest as evidences of our early civilization,
than the brazen war trumpets, of which there are a variety
of forms, and sizes, but all indicating, in their ornaments
and style of workmanship, an age very Temote indeed.
Molyueaux, Ledwich, and Beaut'ord, it is true, after their
usual fashion, assign those ancient instruments to our
northern invaders, and their opinions have been received
by the learned of other countries with a degree of respect
to which they are but little entitled, inasmuch as that
they are wholly unsupported by evidence, and are at va-
riance not only with facts, but even rational conjecture.
Our ancient trumpets bear internal evidences of being the
work of the same people who manufactured onr " punic
fashioned swords, &c," golden ornaments, and other an-
tiquities with which they are usually found ; and until evi-
dences can be produced to show that all equally claim a
Danish origin in Christian times, wc must refer their in-
troduction into this country to a different age and people ;
for our own parts, we are quite persuaded that they are
all equally to be referred to that Eastern or Phoenician co-
lony, which, there can be no doubt, had fixed themselves
in our island in the earliest historic times.

The ancient Irish trumpets have been enumerated
from our old writers under the following names, viz. — .
Stuic or Stoc, Buabhal), Beann, Adharc, Dudag, Cornu,
and Gall Trompa. It is, however, extremely difficult, if
at all possible, now to identify with certainty, any of the
above names with the various forms of trumpets commonly
found, and of which we shall present our readers with
representations. The three cuts which immediately fol-
low are varieties, of what has been generally called the
Stuic or Stoc, which is a brazen tube with a mouth hole
on one side so large that no musical note could pTohably
be produced from it, and whose sole use was possibly to
encrease the din of war. This variety is that which is most
commonly found in Ireland ; and from the great number
which frequently occur together, there can be no doubt
of their military use. They are usually of a single piece,
and of the size figured in the annexed engravings ;
but sometimes they are larger, and consisting of two
pieces rivetted together, but the latter are rarely found
in perfect preservation.

Fig. 1. is copied from a plate in Boate and Molyneaux's
Natural History of Ireland, and represents one of three
trumpets of this kind found in a Cairn at Ballynure, near
Carriekfergus in the year 1698. This specimen, according
to Edward Llwyd,the Archaelogist, came into the posses-
sion of Mr. Malcolm, of Bullingoin, nearthe Causeway ; the
other two were carried to England by Sir Andrew Foun-
taine, and are supposed to be those now deposited in the
British Museum. They were about 24 inches in length,
and 4 inches in diameter at the end. They had each two
loose rings by which they were slung on those who carried